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What can you do in a minute? Make a call? Read a few pages? Wash your face? How about charging your smartphone in 60 seconds? Does that sound unreal? A recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered a breakthrough that could be key to producing the next-gen chargers!

What’s more, is that there’s an Indian tech who has accomplished it along with his team. Here is all you need to know about this lightning-fast charger!

Groundbreaking research on ion movement

Indian researcher Ankur Gupta and his team from the University of Colorado Boulder have found a state-of-the-art scientific discovery on how ions move through supercapacitors. This revolutionary technique could be used to build chargers that can fuel smartphones almost instantaneously.

But it’s not just going to speed up the charging speeds of mobiles but other electronic devices such as laptops, tablets and even electric vehicles! In short, it is a highly convenient and efficient method that can be leveraged to quickly charge electronics.

To put it into perspective, it could only take 10 minutes for a battery-dead electric vehicle to get fully charged whereas smartphones and laptops could need 60 seconds or even less! But how did these researchers accomplish this? Let’s explore it!

Fun fact: When it comes to smartphones in the market, Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 12 Pro+ has set a benchmark of charging a phone from 0% to 100% in less than 5 minutes. Their device comprises a 4,100 mAh battery and it can power the device up to 50% in about 3 minutes. This is the fastest achieved wired charging capacity.

Supercapacitor is the answer?

A supercapacitor is like a powerhouse in the world of energy storage, packing high energy density and superior performance. Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder alongside Ankur Gupta said they have achieved this technique by making the movement of the ions more efficient.

By doing so, the charging speed and energy release can be faster. To make this discovery, the researchers observed how small charged particles, called ions, move within a complex network of nanoscale pores.

175-year-old scientific law changed?

A recent discovery has led to a modification of a well-known law present in all science textbooks known as Kirchhoff’s circuit law. Described by German physicist Gustav Kirchhoff in 1845, it helped scientists to analyse and calculate complex circuits.

The law previously stated that ions moved through a pore-like electron in a straight line. However, during this study, it was found that ion movement did not move like how electrons do. In a press release, Ankur Gupta proudly said they found the “missing link” and can stimulate and predict the ion movement in a complex network of thousands of interconnected pores within a few minutes.

The bottom line

If this new study results in fast electronic device charging, it could be considered a revolutionary discovery. It’s important to note that this advancement will facilitate quick charging for mobile phones, laptops, and cars and assist in storing energy in power grids during high-demand periods.